How to care for your parents' money while caring for your parents : the complete guide to managing your parents' finances and planning for their future

Because caring for your parents’ health also means caring for their wealth...Watching your parents decline and assuming the burden of caring for their physical needs is difficult enough, but you can’t allow that to overshadow the importance of their financial needs. After all, what will happen if your parents outlive their savings? In order to be a financial caregiver, you’ll need to know how to deal with legal and financial paperwork; government agencies and regulations; a host of insurance, investment, and estate planning issues; and the inevitable emotional and psychological issues that arise whenever money and family mix. In this indispensable guide, two family finance experts who are caring for their own parents’ finances provide a basic primer in personal finance for those who are involved in their parents’ financial lives. Filled with checklists, worksheets, resource lists, and other essential tools, this comprehensive guide supplies the knowledge and confidence you need to: decide who should manage your parents’ money; communicate with siblings and caregivers; establish budgets and write annual reports; manage your parents’ stocks, bonds, real estate, and other investments; deal with health insurance, Medicaid, and other insurance issues; and protect your parents from elder fraud. Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 9 Preface......Page 11 Acknowledgments......Page 12 1 Introduction......Page 13 The Two-Edged Sword: Emotions and Knowledge......Page 14 When Is It Time to Get Involved?......Page 16 Family Dynamics......Page 18 Being a Good Communicator......Page 21 The Journey Begins......Page 23 Part I Basic Money Management......Page 25 The Personal Cash Flow Statement......Page 27 How to Obtain Information for the Cash Flow Statement......Page 30 Final Thoughts......Page 33 3 The Balance Sheet......Page 35 The Personal Balance Sheet......Page 36 Three Financial Ratios......Page 39 How Long Will the Money Last?......Page 40 Final Thoughts......Page 42 4 Budgeting......Page 43 The Nature of Budgets......Page 44 Steps in the Budgeting Process......Page 45 Related Issues......Page 55 Final Thoughts......Page 56 5 Credit......Page 57 Credit Basics......Page 58 Credit Pitfalls and the Elderly......Page 61 Managing Credit Usage......Page 65 Dealing with Overindebtedness......Page 70 Related Issues......Page 74 Final Thoughts......Page 76 6 Taxes......Page 79 Gathering Information......Page 80 Evaluating the Need to File a Return......Page 82 Completing and Filing a Tax Return......Page 83 Special Considerations......Page 94 Tax Forms......Page 98 Is There an Easier Way?......Page 99 Final Thoughts......Page 101 Part II Protecting and Investing......Page 103 7 Insurance......Page 105 Insurance Basics......Page 106 Automobile Insurance......Page 109 Homeowner’s Insurance......Page 113 Filing a Claim......Page 118 Helping Your Parents Save Money on Insurance......Page 120 Final Thoughts......Page 121 8 Your Parents’ Investments......Page 123 Investment Returns......Page 124 Investment Risk......Page 126 Types of Investments......Page 131 Managing Your Parents’ Portfolio......Page 142 Final Thoughts......Page 144 9 Life Insurance......Page 145 The Basic Forms of Life Insurance......Page 146 The Life Insurance Inventory......Page 149 Collecting the Death Benefits on a Policy......Page 150 Estimating the Need for Life Insurance......Page 153 Your Parents’ Life Insurance Program......Page 158 Final Thoughts......Page 161 10 Medicare, Medicare Supplement, and Long-Term-Care Insurance......Page 163 Medicare......Page 164 Alternatives to Traditional Medicare......Page 170 Supplemental (Medigap) Health Insurance......Page 173 Long-Term-Care Insurance......Page 175 Related Issues......Page 179 Final Thoughts......Page 180 11 Medicaid......Page 181 Medicaid Coverage......Page 182 The Income Test......Page 185 The Asset Test......Page 187 Patient Liability......Page 191 Asset and Income Protection Planning......Page 193 Related Issues......Page 197 Final Thoughts......Page 199 Part III Consuming......Page 201 12 Housing......Page 203 Options for Living Space......Page 204 Housing Finance......Page 211 Final Thoughts......Page 217 13 Fraud......Page 219 Laws Governing Elder Fraud......Page 220 Recognizing Scams......Page 221 Common Scams against the Elderly......Page 222 Protecting Your Parents......Page 224 What Happens If Your Parents Are Victims?......Page 226 Final Thoughts......Page 227 Part IV Transferring Estates......Page 229 14 Estate Planning......Page 231 Probate......Page 232 Legal Documents to Be Used in Estate Planning......Page 235 Estate Taxes......Page 244 Related Issues......Page 249 Final Thoughts......Page 253 15 Settling Your Parent’s Estate......Page 255 First Steps in Estate Settlement......Page 256 What Does “Settling an Estate” Mean?......Page 258 Transferring Nonprobate Assets......Page 261 Transferring Probate Assets......Page 265 Essential Elements of Inheritance, Estate, and Income Taxation......Page 271 Final Thoughts......Page 283 Part V Epilogue......Page 285 16 Using the Lessons You’ve Learned......Page 287 Basic Money Management......Page 288 Protecting and Investing Your Assets......Page 294 Housing......Page 296 Transferring Your Estate......Page 297 Final Thoughts......Page 300 Index......Page 301 About the Authors......Page 306

Because caring for your parents' health also means caring for their wealth...

Watching your parents decline and assuming the burden of caring for their physical needs is difficult enough, but you can't allow that to overshadow the importance of their financial needs. After all, what will happen if your parents outlive their savings? In order to be a financial caregiver, you'll need to know how to deal with legal and financial paperwork; government agencies and regulations; a host of insurance, investment, and estate planning issues; and the inevitable emotional and psychological issues that arise whenever money and family mix.

In this indispensable guide, two family finance experts who are caring for their own parents' finances provide a basic primer in personal finance for those who are involved in their parents' financial lives. Filled with checklists, worksheets, resource lists, and other essential tools, this comprehensive guide supplies the knowledge and confidence you need to

• 
  
• Decide who should manage your parents' money
  
• Communicate with siblings and caregivers
  
• Establish budgets and write annual reports
  
• Manage your parents' stocks, bonds, real estate, and other investments
  
• Deal with health insurance, Medicaid, and other insurance issues
  
• Protect your parents from elder fraud
  

Because caring for your parents' health also means caring for their wealth ... Watching your parents decline and assuming the burden of caring for their physical needs is difficult enough, but you can't allow that to overshadow the importance of their financial needs. After all, what will happen if your parents outlive their savings? In order to be a financial caregiver, you'll need to know how to deal with legal and financial paperwork; government agencies and regulations; a host of insurance, investment, and estate planning issues; and the inevitable emotional and psychological issues that arise whenever money and family mix. In this indispensable guide, two family finance experts who are caring for their own parents' finances provide a basic primer in personal finance for those who are involved in their parents' financial lives.; Filled with checklists, worksheets, resource lists, and other essential tools, this comprehensive guide supplies the knowledge and confidence you need to: decide who should manage your parents' money; communicate with siblings and caregivers; establish budgets and write annual reports; manage your parents' stocks, bonds, real estate, and other investments; deal with health insurance, Medicaid, and other insurance issues; and protect your parents from elder fraud A basic primer in personal finance for those who are involved in their parents' financial lives. Filled with checklists, worksheets, resource lists, and other essential tools, this guide supplies the knowledge and confidence you need to: decide who should manage your parents' money; communicate with siblings and caregivers; establish budgets and write annual reports; manage your parents' stocks, bonds, real estate, and other investments; deal with health insurance, Medicaid, and other insurance issues; and protect your parents from elder fraud.--From publisher description Provides a primer in personal finance for those who involved in their parents' financial lives. Featuring checklists, worksheets, resource lists, and other tools, this guide supplies the knowledge you need to: decide who should manage your parents' money; communicate with siblings and caregivers; and more. GETTING INVOLVED in your parents' finances must be approached with hardheaded logic and emotional kid gloves.